New gym in town hopes it's a good fit

Kenzie Kinney shows off one of the workout machines at Youfit Health Clubs in Murrieta. The new facility targets first-time gym users and average people looking for an inexpensive, no-frills workout experience.
www.andrewfoulkphotography.com

Kenzie Kinney shows off one of the workout machines at Youfit Health Clubs in Murrieta. The new facility targets first-time gym users and average people looking for an inexpensive, no-frills workout experience.

That IHRSA study found that the most common fitness goal for people more than 30 was to stay healthy. It was cited more often than losing weight, maintaining strength or looking better. And Joy says Youfit is a comfortable, inviting place for people to realize that goal.

"We are all about fitness," Joy said. "We don't really cater to the bodybuilder kind of type. It's more for the average person, just looking to improve their general health and fitness."

There are no yoga classes, no swimming pools and no sales people. Joy said he plans to conduct a basic circuit-training class the company offers to introduce that concept to gym-goers. He showed off the traffic light mounted in the circuit-training section that cues people to move on to the next machine.

Before starting Youfit, Berks was one of the originators of Planet Fitness, helping that company get off the ground in the early 1990s. After about a decade with Planet Fitness, he said, he decided he needed to move in a different direction. That's how he ended up starting Youfit, opening the first gym in Florida five years ago.

Berks said, "We design a club that's purposely less intimidating and more inviting to the person who is not currently (a member of) a health club."